Small low, covered tureens and matching stands of this type were used for serving breakfast soups and other similar foodstuffs in private apartments, often during the long hours of the toilette. In France such a tureen would be called an 'écuelle' and in German it was sometimes called a 'Wöchnerinnterrine' or 'maternity tureen'. However, while they were used to serve restorative foods to women after chilbirth, they were much more widely used by women as well as by men. Some (but not this one) have covers fitted with feet, enabling them to be reversed to serve as a plate for dealing with meat or marrow bones. They were not made as part of a dinner service, but were a standard component of toilet services. Being made for personal use, they were usually finely decorated. They were made in porcelain, silver and other materials.

All of the principal features of this piece were inspired by Classical art: the eagle finial probably derives from Roman Imperial sculpture, the upswept handles from those on ancient Greek pots, the gilded border ornament from Roman architectural carving, and the enamelled scenes (representing a Roman sacrifice and the triumphs of Bacchus and Cybele) from Roman cameos and wall-paintings. Its design reflects the vogue for Classical detailing and fashion for clear outlines and geometric forms -- a combination that is characteristic of the neoclassical style of the final decades of the eighteenth century. It was made at the porcelain factory of the Bourbon King of Naples, Ferdinand IV, who also owned the ancient Roman sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the excavations of which proved so inspirational to neoclassical designers.